Wes's "Raleighwood" 250g In-Wall Build

[Wes]

Hi All,

Construction began today on my 250g in-wall build. The tank is a 250g Marineland Deep Dimension w/ Starphire front.

The tank will be located in the garage and viewable from the living room. Here is some of the equipment.

Tank: Marineland 250g Tank (60 x 36 x 27)
Skimmer: Super Reef Octopus 5000 Internal w/ Bubble Blaster Pump
Chiller: Tradewinds Super 1/2 hp inline Chiller
Return Pump: Blueline 70
Heaters: 2 x 1000w Blueline Titanium Heating Elements
Controller: Reefkeeper Light w/ extra control modules (power strips)
Lighting: 2 x Coralvue Lumen Bright Large Pendants
2 x 250w Coralvue ballasts
1 x 80w aquaillumination T5 retro kit w/ mira 4 reflector
R2 dual extreme LED moonlights

Rocks: 200 lbs of Marco Key Largo Dry Rock
Sand: 360 lbs of Caribsea Aragamax Sand
Sump: Rubbermaid 100g Livestock Tank

I am probably forgetting some stuff but i will try to update as I go.

Here are some before Pics:

 

[Wes]

 

[Wes]

I hired a General Contractor to do the work. Today was the first day of construction. I came home from work and found this. Looks like they got alot done today!

Since it is on load bearing wall, they had to install a header. It's difficult to judge from the pics, but the tank is elevated pretty high in the garage. The house sits on a foundation w/ crawlspace so the garage floor is lower. Because the tank is up so high there will be a platform for normal maintenance. Also, the stand is oversized so i can stand on the ledge to do work if needed

 

[pdnyc69]

looking good so far

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

wow thats High? looks good....
Like to see people step up to big tank.
Do you have Ac in the garage?
if not a 1/2 hp chiller might be to small. I am going thru same problem.went with (1)-1/2HP and (1) 3/4 HPin case one goes out I have back up. What temps does it get in the summr/winter?

Good Luck!!!!!

 

[Wes]

yes it's up there pretty high. I'm 6'3" and its well above my head. Hence the need for a platform that will be built.

The garage is not Air Conditioned. I am only using 580w of lighting. Before purchasing this chiller, I spoke with Hal of Tradewind Chillers. I told him of the setup in the garage, lighting, summer temps, etc. and this "Super 1/2 hp" has "plenty of BTU's" to play it safe. He could have easily upsold me on a larger model...I hope he is right.

August is the hottest month here and it's not uncommon to be in the mid-high 90's outside. The garage is insulated and stays a bit cooler than outside in the summer. I will be upset if this chiller can not keep up after speaking w/ the owner of the company lol.

So far this winter the temp in the garage has not gone below 50 degrees. I have 2000 watts worth of heaters for this tank. If I am spending a fortune on electricity heating the tank in the winter i will look into installing a Natural Gas garage heater.

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

I hope the chiller works also,LOL
get yourself good fans to keep the top of tank cool, you will get temps of 3degs cooler by doing this. I think your heaters are very good. I have 1-1000w and 2-400 in my tank were temps get 50degs in my basement sump room at night and never have problems. The one 1000w kicks butt for me.the 2x 400w heaters never even come on
Ps you might need more rock then 200lbs, I have 350lbs in a 220 and feel its not enough sometimes. Also I think 360lbs of sand might be to much. I went with 200lbs and I have a 3'' sand bed for DT and a fuge with 5'' sand bed

Once again good luck and more pics!!!!!!!!

 

[Wes]

thanks..

keep in mind the rock is 200lbs dry. It is alot of rock. So much that i might not use it all. I don't like alot of rock in the display. This will be a very open scape, especially since i am only using 2 halides. It will most likely be 2 islands under the halides w/ the rest open. I will put as much rock as i can in the sump.

That said i will be ordering a 45 lb box of fiji uncured live rock to "spike" the marcorocks and get some bacteria and other critters in there.

Yea i thought the sand sounds like alot also. I used the sand bed calculator on RC and it said the "aragamax" fine sand is more dense so it takes more than other types. Supposedly 360lbs will give me about 3". I am skeptical. If i have sand left over i will save it and add it to my 65g after it eventually gets plumbed in and becomes a refuge.

 

[jackson6745]

Can't wait to see this one running Wes. Looks good so far

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Looks like fun.good job.

 

[noelskii]

wow...you're gonna have A LOT of fun with that! congrats!

 

[masterswimmer]

Nice start Wes. Congrats on getting it 'off the ground'.

How about giving us some idea of how you're planning to finish the tank surround on the living room side? So many possibilities.

Best of luck,
Russ

 

[cali_reef]

I am probably forgetting some stuff but i will try to update as I go.

You forgot: 1) water, 2) fish, 3) corals, and finally the other important part - flow in the tank. :duh:

You should get as much of that regular drywall around the hole replaced with the mold resistant type.

The chiller is going to be inside the garage? I think humidity will be a bigger issue for you in the summer.

Can your controller handle 2,000 watts of heater? not counting 500+ watt of lights.

 

[KathyC]

You forgot: 1) water, 2) fish, 3) corals, and finally the other important part - flow in the tank. :duh:

You should get as much of that regular drywall around the hole replaced with the mold resistant type.

The chiller is going to be inside the garage? I think humidity will be a bigger issue for you in the summer.

Can your controller handle 2,000 watts of heater? not counting 500+ watt of lights.

Yeah, that stuff Pierce said!

Might want to redo the sandbed calculator (hey! use ours -it's up of=ver there on the left side under 'Calculators' )
Its says 244 pounds for 3" ...or 163 for a 2" bed.
Might want to mix a couple of grain sizes so it doesn't compact too much?

I like the addition of the portable generator

No doubt this is going to be a fantastic build Wes...looking forward to following along!
btw - love the thread name..lol

 

[Wes]

You forgot: 1) water, 2) fish, 3) corals, and finally the other important part - flow in the tank. :duh:

You should get as much of that regular drywall around the hole replaced with the mold resistant type.

Flow will start out with the Blueline 70 pushing 2 penductors on the returns. Then eventually when i move all the stuff from the small tank the 2 x 6100's will go in. If that isnt enough i might add a Vortech on each end.

Noted on the drywall, thanks.

The chiller is going to be inside the garage? I think humidity will be a bigger issue for you in the summer.

Can your controller handle 2,000 watts of heater? not counting 500+ watt of lights.

yes the chiller will be inside the garage. I can install some type of air ventilation/air exchange if humidity becomes an issue. Outside air is pretty darn humid in the summer here also...

i didnt think about the controller being able to handle the heaters...good question i'll look into it.

the lights will be on a separate control module aka power strip.

All good questions, i appreciate them since you have experience with this kind of thing.

 

[Wes]

Yeah, that stuff Pierce said!

Might want to redo the sandbed calculator (hey! use ours -it's up of=ver there on the left side under 'Calculators' )
Its says 244 pounds for 3" ...or 163 for a 2" bed.
Might want to mix a couple of grain sizes so it doesn't compact too much?

I like the addition of the portable generator

No doubt this is going to be a fantastic build Wes...looking forward to following along!
btw - love the thread name..lol

thanks. I read somewhere that Carribsea Aragamax is 90lbs per cubit foot. That comes out to 338 lbs for a 3" sandbed using the MR calculator

 

[Alfredo De La Fe]

You may need to get "remotes" or whatever your brand of controller calls them. Otherwise you will be changing fuses more often than anything else...

Alfred

yes the chiller will be inside the garage. I can install some type of air ventilation/air exchange if humidity becomes an issue. Outside air is pretty darn humid in the summer here also...

i didnt think about the controller being able to handle the heaters...good question i'll look into it.

the lights will be on a separate control module aka power strip.

All good questions, i appreciate them since you have experience with this kind of thing.

 

[Wes]

Did a little reading regarding the heaters and load on the controller. Each module handles 15A. It looks like I will have to have each heater on seperate control modules which that will need to be on different circuits.

The goal is to have the second heater as a backup set to come on a couple degrees cooler than normal operating temp. In other words, I don't want to have to use both heaters. But I want them both to work if needed. I will have to put one heater on the chiller circuit. I wanted the chiller exclusive to that circuit, but theoretically both will never be on at the same time.

Thanks for bringing this up Cali. I never thought about the load that these big ass heaters have.

 

[Wes]

Nice start Wes. Congrats on getting it 'off the ground'.

How about giving us some idea of how you're planning to finish the tank surround on the living room side? So many possibilities.

Best of luck,
Russ

Russ,

From the inside, the surround will be "picture framed" with material that matches the trim around the windows and doors.

Thanks,

Wes

 

[masterswimmer]

Russ,

From the inside, the surround will be "picture framed" with material that matches the trim around the windows and doors.

Thanks,

Wes

Stone baby, like a grotto
Been wanting to change mine to stone for years. If I were doing it fresh like you, that would be it!

I've got mine 'picture framed'. I'm sure yours will look good.

R